You just never know what will set Bill O’Reilly off. Last night, it was a perfectly reasonable remark by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who, following the arrest of a Pakistani suspect in the Times Square car bomb plot, cautioned against turning Pakistanis or followers of Islam into scapegoats:
I want to make clear that we will not tolerate any bias or backlash against Pakistani or Muslim New Yorkers. All of us live in this city. And among any group, there’s always a few bad apples.
O’Reilly angrily lashed out at Bloomberg:
Well, maybe somebody should remind the mayor that Muslim fanatics have been threatening New York City and the entire country for almost 20 years. That’s a lot of apples out there, sir.
If there is a way to read O’Reilly’s response to Bloomberg as anything but a call for “bias and backlash,” it eludes us.
Is there a problem with O’Reilly’s comment? Afterall, Bloomberg said prior to finding out this person was indeed Pakistani with terrorist connections, that he could almost bet it was a homegrown, WHITE, MALE, mentally deranged, and probably hating on the passage of healthcare or has a political agenda. That’s EXTREMELY biased from Bloomberg. Do you think he was hoping for a Tea Party member perhaps?
He was just hoping, it sounds like, that this wasn’t the usual suspect. Now, if there was hope that it wasn’t the usual suspect, wouldn’t that be bias of sorts as well? Usual suspect would indicate a Muslim.
I believe that we’ve gotten far to watered-down in calling truth the truth.
If there is a group of people living in tepees carrying tomahawks, the bias is that they’re most likely Indians. That’s just truth…it’s not a disrespect. If it turns out that they’re not Indians, well then that’s not the norm.
If there is a bakery on my street and I go into the bakery, I would expect to buy some bread, muffins, rolls, cakes, and other baked goods. I wouldn’t expect to go in and buy a new 2010 Chevy Camaro. The bias is that they have baked goods based on the idea that it’s a bakery! It’s product rings true to the name!
Likewise, about 85% of all hate crime is committed by the Islamic world. Based on those statistics, it would be natural to first suspect this Times Square Car Bomber person must be a Muslim Terrorist. If it turned out differently, then that wouldn’t be the norm. That’s not a disrespect to Muslims, that’s the pattern that it’s extremist have developed. We really have no choice but to express a bias based prior experience.
BlogFrog
BlogFrog Says:
May 7th, 2010 at 8:37 am
Is there a problem with O’Reilly’s comment? Afterall, Bloomberg said prior to finding out this person was indeed Pakistani with terrorist connections, that he could almost bet it was a homegrown, WHITE, MALE, mentally deranged, and probably hating on the passage of healthcare or has a political agenda. That’s EXTREMELY biased from Bloomberg. Do you think he was hoping for a Tea Party member perhaps?
The culprit is not ‘homegrown’ but he is a citizen; & he’s white & male; the mentally deranged part can be argued I guess. The man seemed to have a comfortable life ensconced in Connecticut. I think O’Reilly wouldn’t mind rounding up all Muslims & interning them until religion dies down.
Really, really? If they are carrying tomahawks and living in teepees, they are probably Indians? What planet do you live on, when is the last time you saw that in the real world? Last week? Never?
I would like to know where you get your 85% of all hate crime is committed by Muslims. I am sure they could say the same of Christians and the radicalization of parts of our military. http://www.harpers.org/archive/2009/05/0082488
Or the evangelists who insist on proselitizing. So we bomb their families, attempt to change their families religion and verbally and physically attack them but you can bet your sweet bippy those actions are not included in your statistics.
There is plenty of blame to go around and until we have the cajones to admit our part in it, it will never end
Timothy McVeigh was a Muslim! All the crazy militia members are Muslims! John Dillinger was a Muslim! John Gotti is a Muslim! All the serial killers are Muslims! John Gacey: Muslim! Bonny and Clyde were Muslims! Billy the KId: Muslim! The Clantons at the OK Corral: Muslims!
Was going to write about our part in this whole mess surrounding the American perception of us being so pure and having no part in the few incidents ( fortunately) to this county. However I read the preceeding statements of old pol says; and frank67. How absolutely refreshing. Right Wing fear tactics and exploitation has all the earmarks of a grand comedy and thats not to say the left is any better
Today’s history lesson is on who helped create radical Islamic sects as a bulwark against secular nationalist parties or pan-Arabism.
British and U.S. intelligence supported the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which so many of today’s radical Islamic sects – including Hamas and even al-Qaeda – have sprung.
The U.S. adopted the British model of supporting radical Islamists in order to undermine popular secular governments or communist-influenced outfits in the Near and Middle East.
The CIA and British intelligence armed and trained the mujahedeen in Afghanistan benefiting bin Laden and Zawahiri. Hamas was formed with the tacit support of Israel in order to counter the influence of secular Palestinian resistance movements.
Quoting writer Brendan O’Neill, â┚¬Ã…“It was precisely the West’s earlier disregard for secularism and democracy in the Middle East, its elevation of its own powerful interests over the needs and desires of local populations, which helped to give rise to a layer of apparently â┚¬Ã‹Å“evil’ radical Islamism. What we have today is not a World War between a principled West and psychotic groups from â┚¬Ã‹Å“over there,’ but rather the messy residue of decades of Western meddling in the Middle East.â┚¬Ã‚Â
Of course, you’ll never hear the pin heads at Fox mention how the history of US and British involvement in the Middle East helped create the radical Islamic sects of today.